Qatari Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Ali bin Fahd al-Hajri (C) cuts the ribbon alongside a member of the Taliban's office Jan Mohammad Madani (L) at the opening ceremony of the new Taliban political office in Doha.

CNN Radio News Day is an evening news program providing an informative, thoughtful and creative look at the day's events. It's posted Monday through Friday at 4:30 pm ET.

You don’t have to be at this blog to listen, we want you to take us with you! Click the download button in the SoundCloud player and put us on your smart phone or tablet and bring us with you in the car, on the train or while you’re working out.

(CNN) – This Thursday was a day of deal making, on scales both large on small. Here's what we have for you in today's News Day:

Immigration deal shaping up

Sources tell CNN that a bipartisan group of U.S. senators is proposing tougher border security measures - including doubling the current 21,000-agent border patrol - as part of a deal to get more Republican support for an immigration reform bill. CNN's Lisa Desjardins explains the latest.

Black and gay and in Illinois

The Illinois General Assembly's black caucus may prove to be the deciding bloc of votes in deciding same-sex marriage in Illinois. The caucus is facing pressure from black religious leaders on both sides of the issue – exposing the rift inside the black community over whether same-sex marriage rights are equal to civil rights. CNN’s Nova Safo reports.

Day of the condors

What do you do when you are overrun by an endangered species?​ ​About 80 miles north of LA in Tehachapi, CA, there is a gated community called Bear Valley Springs, and it's under siege by condors. The residents can do very little to chase them away but these big birds are wreaking havoc; tearing up shingle roofs, damaging air conditions, not to mention the big drops of condor scat. What are fish and wildlife officials doing it? CNN's Jim Roope has the story.

Chicago, Illinois (CNN) - L. Bernard Jakes, the pastor at West Point Baptist Church, has come out in support of a gay marriage bill in the Illinois legislature. He has the support of a majority of his congregation, but not of his fellow pastors.

[2:15] “I’ve definitely been criticized. There are many that have bastardized me, said that I was going to hell on social media. There was even one radio station that encouraged their listeners to call here to the church and tell me I was going to hell.”

The Illinois senate approved a gay marriage bill in February, but it has gotten stalled in the house, where it is short of having enough votes to pass. Legislators are expected to take up the measure again in the fall, and the traditionally liberal black caucus in the state house has emerged as an important voting block.

Caucus members are facing pressure from black pastors both in favor and opposed to gay marriage, even though only two of the caucus’ legislators have so far come out in support of gay marriage.

Editor's Note: Listen to the full story in our player above, and join the conversation in our comments section below.

(CNN) - Elizabeth Becker's latest book was in part, born out of frustration. The seasoned journalist, who got her start as a war correspondent, began to notice a growing global economic force; a sector of the global economy changing whole societies and ecosystems but one relegated to the lifestyle section of most major papers.

So she decided to write a book about it and give it the attention it deserves:

[1:19] "My new book is Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism," she says.

Editor's Note: Listen to the full story in our player above, and join the conversation in our comments section below.

(CNN) – Right now, there's a group of people tackling the highest mountain in North America – Mount McKinley in Alaska, also known as Mount Denali.

Expedition Denali is made-up of nine members, ranging in age from 18-56, coming from varied professional and career backgrounds. A week and a half into their climb, the group is set to hit the summit very soon. One other note about the group – all of its members are African-American. The team is attempting to become the first group of black men and women to stand atop North America's highest mountain – 20,156 feet high

The makeup of the expedition was by design. It was organized by the National Outdoor Leadership School, with an aim to stir young people, in particuar minorities, to see the value of outdoor recreation and preservtion. James Mills is part of the effort, an African-American who's been an avid outdoor athlete most of his life:

[1:36] "Our goal is to let people of color, especially young people, know that it's cool to spend time outdoors in nature. It's fun to spend time outdoors in nature."

James Mills is also a freelance journalist. The climb is for his effort The Joy Trip Project, and he's documenting it for National Geographic.

CNN Radio News Day is an evening news program providing an informative, thoughtful and creative look at the day's events. It's posted Monday through Friday at 4:30 pm ET.

You don’t have to be at this blog to listen, we want you to take us with you! Click the download button in the SoundCloud player and put us on your smart phone or tablet and bring us with you in the car, on the train or while you’re working out.

(CNN) – Today was a day of erupting emotions, whistle blowers in the cross hairs and tributes to a freedom fighter. Here's what's waiting for you in today's News Day:

Heat on the Hill over immigration

In the space of 24 hours, the debate over immigration reform in the U.S. is approaching the boiling point. Leaders of both the House and the Senate are positioning for a fight and a new report from the Congressional Budget Office spells out what effects immigration reform might have on unemployment and the economy. CNN's Lisa Desjardins goes beyond the numbers to help explain to us what it means.

Government whistle-blower says he's now a target

Jeff Black, a former Federal Air Marshal spoke out against the Federal Air Marshal service and the Department of Homeland Security before Congress and in a documentary. But, he tells CNN's Drew Griffin that doing what he thought was right put him in the cross hairs of the IRS and Black believes it was no coincidence.

Honors for an original freedom fighter

Abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, widely considered to be the father of the civil rights movement, was honored today. Congress held a ceremony to dedicate a statue of Douglass. It's a gift from the District of Columbia and its more than 600,000 residents. Each state has two such famous figures in Emancipation Hall of the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, but this was the first opportunity for D.C. to have one of its own in the hall.